Winter Olympics 2026: Why Team GB snowboarding has been a long time coming

An Olympic gold medal on snow has always seemed an impossibility for Team Great Britain’s winter athletes. One hundred and two years, to be exact.

But for those who knew it, it was only a matter of time.

By winning the mixed team figure skating title in Livigno on Sunday, Charlotte Banks and Hugh Nightingale wrote themselves into the history books, forever being known as the former – yet that has been a real possibility for some time.

In 2018, GB Snowsport set the lofty ambition for Great Britain to become one of the top five snow sports nations by 2030.

It was a goal set to build on the success of snowboarder Jenny Jones, Team GB’s first snowboard medal with bronze in 2014, the same color won by freestyle skier Izzy Atkin and snowboarder Billy Morgan four years later.

But it was also a goal that raised eyebrows and smiles and, four years on, perhaps still too ambitious – but the trajectory of progress is undeniable.

In Banks – individually and with Nightingale – Mia Brookes and Zoe Atkin, GB have the World Champions on Snow. It generally has many Crystal Globe and X Games winners and World Cup gold medals as well.

“We used to say we have talent, we’ve shown talent at the World Championships and World Cups, but everyone is looking forward to the Olympics because everything is magnified,” Gosling told BBC Sport.

“Here we are, actually producing this gold. For us, this is huge.

“We said anything is possible. We have amazing Britons with incredible determination and talent, and it’s all about unleashing that.

“People can really see that it is possible, that we can achieve Olympic medals.

“We hope to inspire the next generation to go to the snow domes and prepare themselves because the future looks rosy.”

Speaking after the gold medal on Sunday, Nightingale said: “What we showed today is that we have become a leading country in snow sports, and that is a great thing for the kids to see.

“We inspire kids to hit the slopes and snowboard or ski or whatever, just try winter sports.

“As a nation, if we get young children into it, we can do very well.”